Athletics’ slugger facing heavy criticism under a massive contract extension originally appeared on The Sporting News.
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During the 2018 MLB Draft, the Athletics selected Lawrence Butler in the sixth round. He was drafted out of high school, so it took him some time to make his MLB debut.
That would come in August of the 2023 season, and he would find himself on the Opening Day roster in 2024, but struggles would send him back down to Triple-A, where he would rejoin the MLB team a few months later, getting back on track and producing for his club.
After rebounding well, the A’s decided to give him an extension. The two sides agreed on a seven-year, $65.5 million deal that runs through the 2031 season.
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Athletics’ slugger facing heavy criticism under a massive contract extension
Unfortunately, Lawrence has largely struggled this year. He seems a bit lost at the plate and has gotten his playing time cut recently, becoming the fourth outfielder for the A’s.
He has not been all that helpful, and for that, Bleacher Report’s Kerry Miller tags him as the “most scrutinized” player on the roster.
“This year, he has been one of the least productive regulars in all of baseball, relegated to the role of fourth outfielder since Henry Bolte’s promotion to mid-May. But the A’s already gave Butler a seven-year, $65.5M extension, so they’re continually trying to get him going, especially with Brent Rooker also struggling and currently injured.”
Butler has gone from a 3.0 WAR in 2024 to a 1.5 WAR last year and now a -1.0 WAR this year. He has seemingly lost his ability to hunt fastballs this year, and opposing pitchers have really hurt him by prioritizing throwing off-speed pitches, where he has struggled.
He needs to figure out how to attack fastballs as he has over the last few years, or this could be a long season for the sweet-swinging lefty.
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